Franchises that are more than two decades old tend to have a lot of skeletons in the closet, namely titles that were so bad they ended up being forgotten. With Resident Evil having such a long list of characters, it’s understandable the series has had its fair share of humdrum games featuring these protagonists.
We’ve previously looked into the best games the series has to offer, but it’s always wise to know what the worst of the bunch is in order to steer clear of them. These 10 titles have the worst score according to Metacritic, and we’ve explained why that is in this list.
10 Resident Evil: The Darkside Chronicles (2009) - 75
A retelling of the events of Resident Evil 2 and Code Veronica, this game also has multiple scenarios that fill in the gaps in timeline between previous entries. To be fair, while it’s not exactly the best game out there, The Darkside Chronicles is far from the worst too.
The reason for its less-than-stellar reviews has to do with the game being an on-rails shooter, a genre where all you basically have to do is point and shoot targets. It’s a pretty unimaginative game, that’s for sure, but you could do a lot worse.
9 Resident Evil Outbreak (2003) - 71
In what was Resident Evil’s attempt at reaching out to the online gamer market, which was growing in popularity at the time, Outbreak was the result of these endeavors. Too bad, though, that the lack of voice chatting meant that playing online didn’t really feel that way.
Since players could not communicate with one another, the game relied on guesswork or natural teamwork for players to get the job done. It was scary in its own way, but felt a lot like the usual Resident Evil game, only with multiplayer added.
8 Resident Evil 6 (2012) - 67
It’s saddening to see a game from the mainline Resident Evil series to be on this list, butResident Evil 6 just wasn’t what the heart of the series was supposed to be. Being survival horror in name only, the game packed in so much action you’d forget what series you were supposed to be playing.
The multiple scenarios in place all feel interchangeable, since there’s not much to do other than either evade or constantly press button prompts to complete sequences. All in all, just a lazy entry in the series that relied way too much on previous installment goodwill.
7 Resident Evil: Dead Aim (2003) - 65
Hoping to combine elements of classic gaming of light gun gameplay, and bringing in Resident Evil’s own brand of horror, Dead Aim was too much of a hybrid to have its own identity.
After the initial adrenaline rush of pointing an actual gun-shaped controller - provided you could manage to get one - the game becomes too confusing due to the constant switches between first-person and third-person camera. As the characters here aren’t the usual series heroes, even the story feels off in most places.
6 Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D (2011) - 65
It’s always a difficult task to make time challenge games out to be entertaining, and Resident Evil failed in this regard as Mercenaries 3D was just too much of a gimmick. Bringing in moments from previous games where enemies overwhelmed the player, the concept was to kill these foes in a set time limit.
Although the fun level does stay a bit longer since the game’s on 3DS, and shooting around is a lot more fun on a handheld, the novelty eventually wears off to reveal a game that has no substance and a painful lack of features.
5 Resident Evil Outbreak File #2 (2004) - 58
Continuing on from the events of the original Outbreak, File #2 is more of the same, only with the law of diminishing returns in place. Featuring the exact same characters from before, the difference in this game is the addition of extra scenarios.
Other than that, there’s nothing else of note as Outbreak File #2 has no originality to it. Plus, since the first game itself had hardly much to write home about, this sequel is only for those who had the time of their lives with Outbreak; that may only be a handful of people.
4 Resident Evil Gaiden (2001) - 56
We get that the Gameboy Color didn’t have much power in it to sustain an actual Resident Evil game, but this one was just ridiculous. With an over-the-top perspective, Resident Evil Gaiden gave players control of Leon Kennedy where there wasn’t much to do other than make him walk around.
Fight sequences were an even bigger bore, since a first-person view was prompted where you didn’t even have the option to shoot. Instead, the player had to time just right so that a moving reticle would fire bullets at enemies.
3 Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City (2012) - 48
Yet again relying too much on action instead of horror, Operation Raccoon City tried and failed at bringing in goodwill from Resident Evil 2. The game featured a carbon copy of gameplay style from the most recent games in the series, but the bullet-heavy style makes it far inferior.
Also, having so many characters in the main role spot meant that you never got to feel accustomed to one protagonist, thereby making all of the characters seem like the same person. That’s saying something, seeing as there were as many as twelve protagonists here!
2 Resident Evil Survivor (2000) - 39
Another victim of the light gun playing technique, Resident Evil Survivor was one of the worst games released in the decade, let alone just the series. Here, gameplay wouldn’t even be possible if you didn’t have a light gun attached to the console.
With a story and gameplay features that had no heart, being simply of the point-and-shoot variety, Resident Evil Survivor was pretty much a lesson for the developers for things not to do in the future.
1 Umbrella Corps (2016) - 38
It seems even the series is ashamed of this game, seeing as it doesn’t carry the official title of the franchise. That’s a good thing, though, as Umbrella Corps is only vaguely reminiscent of a Resident Evil game.
The game throws players in the middle of an all-out assault by enemies, something that isn’t nearly as exciting as it sounds. It’s basically more run-and-shoot stuff that just doesn’t have any fun attached to it. Since there’s only vague connections to the main story, Umbrella Corps is better left forgotten.